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'A Mind-Centered Thought Ring of Motion': The Allure of Walter Russell’s Diagrammatic Universe
He was a prodigiously talented artist, a sought-after portrait painter, and a sculptor of presidents. That all changed at the age of 49, when the Universe revealed its inner secrets to him during an intense 39-day vision. Walter Russell went on to establish his own University, dedicating the rest of his life to creating breathtaking diagrams of his "new cosmology"—masterpieces of visual authority and pseudoscience. How can something so scientifically wrong look so visually ri
jmfwhittle
Jul 29, 202512 min read


Butterflies on the Sun: Mapping planet sized spots on the surface of our star.
Dark spots on the sun have captivated humans for millennia, but it wasn't until the 19th century that Edward and Annie Maunder mapped their rhythmic dance. "Butterflies on the Sun" explores the history of the famous "Butterfly Diagram" and details how this astrophysical chart was transformed into a monumental glass-ceiling installation for the Changwon Sculpture Biennale.
jmfwhittle
Apr 10, 20246 min read


Graphing Intelligence: The integral role of diagrams in AI research
In a special guest post, ChatGPT-4 takes the reins to explain the visual language of its own existence. "Graphing Intelligence" explores the integral role of diagrams in AI research—from Neural Networks to Decision Trees—and concludes with a gallery of generative art inspired by the structural beauty of algorithms.
jmfwhittle
Dec 28, 202310 min read


Labyrinth of the Night: An architectural emblem of life for a Martian World
What does a city on Mars look like if it is built on the blueprint of life itself? Noctis Labyrinthus is an installation that projects a fictional Martian colony into the deep canyons of the Red Planet. By overlaying the molecular structure of the ribosome—nature’s ancient protein printer—onto NASA topography data, the project imagines a future where architecture mimics the machinery of biological creation.
jmfwhittle
Nov 24, 20239 min read
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